


garden of everything

by lunartotems



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, i’m a sucker for fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 13:21:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20471705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunartotems/pseuds/lunartotems
Summary: he wasn’t really interested in flowers or their hidden meanings... until she spoke





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> title comes from a song by maaya sakamoto and steve conte from raxephon.

He never knew why he let himself stay working in his uncle’s flower shop. He knew nothing of flowers, he was too clumsy and strong to do arrangements, too awkward to talk to people (but for some odd reason people are drawn to him), and he often wondered that he should probably quit since college had been the bane of his existence. Dimitri counted his blessings since his best friend Dedue knew of flowers, despite his stature and size… knew how to arrange the blooms prettily, too bad they’re both not people persons. That honor goes to Mercedes—Dedue’s long time girlfriend who is an amazing flower arranger, customer service personnel, cook, and among other things. For now Dimitri is alone at the shop, Mercedes was sick and Dedue asked for the day to take care of her. He allowed the request of course but thankfully not a lot of people went in… there was a lot of phone orders where he dutifully wrote things down and there was a customer here and there who inquired or bought flowers but luckily for him they were not picky about how he arranged them.

Minutes and hours passed, there was no foot traffic. He actually enjoyed the quiet; the low hum of the cooling case for some of the more delicate blooms resonated around the walls and the soft music from the playlist Mercedes made him rather sleepy as he read through some case files that was assigned as coursework. Dimitri’s eyes were about to shut but the sound of the door chime snapped him back to reality.

A young woman with mint green hair looked around the shop. Her hair was braided messily but she still looked stunning. She was wearing a dark blue sundress with oranges as a pattern (he found it rather quirky) and orange colored ballet flats. She drifted along the rows of flowers, smiling and gently sniffing to take in the scent.

“Hello. Welcome.” Dimitri greeted sweetly from behind the counter. “Let me know if you need anything.”

She met his gaze and her eyes almost matched the color of her hair. Dimitri felt flushed and swallowed the lump on his throat. A bright smile painted the young woman’s face and suddenly there was heat creeping along his cheeks to his ears.  _ Pretty.  _ He thought. “I will! Thank you.” The young woman replied as she continued to look around.

Boredom hit him so he approached her… not creepily of course. He noticed her arm was covered with tattoos of different blooms of every shape and color.  _ She must love flowers then.  _ Dimitri thought. The young woman stopped near a bucket white roses and she observed them trying to pick the best looking ones. Dimitri approached her and said “Have you made your choice?”

The young woman let out a small squeak as his voice startled her. Dimitri flushed even more; he did not mean to startle her and there was a dread of panic inside his head. “I apologize for startling you, miss.” The young man apologized.

“It’s okay.” She replied as she gained her composure back. “I’ll take half a dozen of these white roses, please.”

“Excellent choice.” Dimitri mused as he started to pick six delicate blooms.

She nodded and sighed, “They are but their meaning is rather tragic.”

He furrowed his brows. Flowers have meaning? What does she mean by that? “Flowers have meaning?” He quipped.

She stifled a giggle and smiled again. “They do.” The mint haired girl almost sang. “Some of them beautiful. Some are rather melancholy.”

The young woman looked at the different flowers in front of her. “Long ago,” she started. “People used to convey their feelings through flowers. Whether it’s returning or rejecting love, a loss of a loved one, or if you’re feeling passive-aggressive… send flowers to a person you hate!” 

Dimitri almost tuned out of her droning. The topic she was yammering about was nothing of his interest. He just wished she could pay up so he could continue on with his studies. The young woman looked at him like a deer caught in headlights, her expression was almost doll-like as she pursed her lips together. “I’m sorry.” She apologized. “My mother has a collection of books about flowers. I grew up reading them.”

He shrugged, almost ignoring her apology but he gave a nod. “Just the roses?” Dimitri inquired.

“Yes. Just the roses for today. Thank you.” 

Dimitri lead her to the counter where he tried his best not to ruin the flowers. He laid out some butcher paper first before trying to remember how Mercedes arranges them. He did it but with some difficulty as he tied a piece of hempen twine into a ribbon to bundle the blooms together. “You said flowers have meaning.” Dimitri quizzically mused. “What do these mean?” He asked half-heartedly. The young woman paused for a second, lost in thought. “Purity. Humility.” She said as her gaze fixed on the white blooms. The blond man snored and thought,  _ Boring.  _ “It also means death and loss of a mother.” She continued, although her tone was sadder. He looked at her, the smile in her eyes gone and her lips were in a thin line; goddess, if he was able to kick himself he would.  _ Is her mother dead too?  _ Dimitri thought. As he was about to apologize, she hurriedly took out her wallet and laid out some bills on the counter and took the haphazardly arranged flowers to her arms. “Keep the change. I’m sorry for droning on…” The young woman mused. “Thank you again for your help.” She added before turning her heels around towards the door.

The chime almost sounded melancholy when she opened the door and left. Dimitri slumped himself on the chair and rubbed his face with his palms. “You fucking idiot.” He hissed at himself.


	2. Chapter 2

“Mercie,” Dimitri drawled out. “did you know flowers have a meaning to them?”

Mercedes blinked and tilted her head to one side. She was rather surprised about the question coming out of the blond’s lips as he really never showed interest in flowers despite where he was working right now. “Uhm.” Mercedes mused. “I do.” She added confidently. The young woman noticed there was a rather piqued look painted on Dimitri’s face as if the topic suddenly interested him. “Why’d you ask?”

“Nothing.” Dimitri replied. “Just curious.” It had been almost three days, four hours, and fifty-two minutes since that young woman with peculiar hair and even more peculiar taste in dress patterns. He thought he might’ve scared her off by his cold attitude, he had asked Dedue if she had been in the shop before and his friend said no… at least not during his shift.

“What do those flowers in the bouquet mean, Mercedes?”

Mercedes looked at what she was working with. On the counter were a set of blooms, beautiful and bright in color. There were several stems of leaves also and Dimitri wondered if they had meaning as well. “Well,” Mercedes mused as she picked up a delicate looking flower with a long, thin stem with clusters of white flowers. She handed it to him so he can observe. Dimitri took it gingerly and twirled it between his fingers; he noticed there was a small, red stain in the middle of the flower. He found it oddly beautiful, haunting even. 

“Bird’s nest.” His friend said. “Also known as carrot flowers.” Dimitri was rather surprised that carrots can spring such delicate looking flowers but he kept his tongue as he let Mercedes continue. “It represents sanctuary.”  _ What a beautiful meaning.  _ Dimitri thought. He settled the flower down to the counter as Mercedes handed him another blossom. The flowers were a soft pink blush in color all clustered up like a tail. It gave a soft fragrance when he pressed it against his nose and he observed it again in great detail. “That’s hyacinth.” Mercedes spoke. “There’s different colors and they have their own meaning. Pink means joy. Blue and purple mean constancy. White means purity.” 

“How do you know these things?” Dimitri asked.

Mercedes gave a soft chuckle. “There’s this one girl who frequents here. She works next door at the tattoo shop. Sweet girl, odd at times but she’s kind.”

Dimitri blinked.  _ Could she be talking about? Her? And she’s working with Hilda and Claude? _

“What does she look—” the question was about to escape from his lips but he was interrupted by a familiar chime of the door.

He couldn’t really erased the jade-haired girl that graced the store not too long ago; her smile was something that made his heart aflutter (was he crushing on her?). The regret of acting cold towards her was rather uncharacteristic and ungentlemanly of him. Dimitri was raised to be proper being a son of a former high-profile lawyer in Fhirdiad, his uncle chose the simple life since his father took the limelight and was doted on. His parents’ untimely death from a car accident and his injuries from said accident made him miss almost two years worth of his college life. His uncle Rufus was kind on taking him in for a while until he gets back into the swing of things and could stand firmly back on his feet. Dimitri was rather indebted with his uncle’s kindness but for a time he felt distant from everyone save for a few people whom he trusted dearly.

“You were asking something earlier, Dimitri.” Mercedes piped up.

“Oh. Nevermind.” Dimitri replied shaking his head. “It’s nothing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Certain.” Dimitri said as he stood up from the chair as he began to gather his things. “I’m heading out for now… Dedue should be here soon.” Mercedes nodded and smiled, “Try to have a good day.”

He gave a curt smile to her.  _ Try.  _ Sometimes he was haunted by ghosts and regrets. He does try to fight the voices, drown them out with the strumming of chords, and the thumping of the bass; they never suffice. Memories of that day still haunt him and a keloid on his arm was a reminder. Dimitri always wanted to cover that ugly thing that only brought him to dark places; maybe he could ask Claude for ideas.

Or her. If he ever finds out where she was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i was going to do a long, lore compliant explanation of the legend behind bird’s nest/queen anne’s lace but my brain did not cooperate. also hyacinths represent rebirth/spring. in catholic tradition it symbolizes prudence and peace of mind

**Author's Note:**

> i’m a sucker for victorian flower language/floriography. also, i know that some flowers have multiple and over-lapping meanings. i’ll try to insert some lore or explain the flowers when needed in the notes.


End file.
